By Chris Huntemann, Columnist
The new year started off with greatness for the UFC, as light heavyweight champion Jon Jones retained his title in a dominant 5-round performance at UFC 182 that solidified his standing in many people’s eyes as the greatest fighter of all time. It was a common theme throughout the night’s main card.
Every fight on the main card went to a judge’s decision, and the winner in each bout was clear. I’ll ruminate on what’s next for each fighter that emerged victorious last night, as well as what may be next for their vanquished foe.
Hector Lombard def. Josh Burkman by unanimous decision (Welterweight - 170 lbs.)
It was mentioned by UFC President Dana White on the postfight show that Burkman was sick and injured leading up to this fight, and he looked like it. He basically let Lombard pick him apart and land shot after shot, even as Burkman tried to stay away from Lombard’s hands.
Lombard’s victory sets up a likely fight with Rory MacDonald in a de facto no. 1 contender fight for the welterweight title. Rory has been next in line for a title shot for a while now, but Robbie Lawler’s victory over Johny Hendricks last month for the belt sets up a trilogy in that hard-hitting rivalry sometime this year. Rory will once again have to wait, but if he takes the fight with Lombard in the meantime he could see his quest for gold delayed even longer if Lombard were to score a victory.
For Burkman, a last-chance fight against a non-ranked welterweight on a future prelim card looks to be in his future.
Kyoji Horiguchi def. Louis Gaudinot by unanimous decision (Flyweight - 125 lbs.)
Horiguchi also dictated the pace in this fight and used his speed and swarming offense to confound and confuse Gaudinot. Horiguchi is on a 4-fight win streak in UFC and an overall winning streak that goes back to 2012. A top-10 flyweight is in his future, with another impressive victory possibly securing him a title shot. A bout with Jussier Formiga or Chris Cariaso sounds good.
Gaudinot goes back to the drawing board, with a spot on a future Fight Pass card likely on the horizon.
Brad Tavares def. Nate Marquardt by unanimous decision (Middleweight - 185 lbs.)
This was probably the most underwhelming fight of the night. Both men were extremely hesitant to engage and fought like guys afraid to lose their jobs, which both were in danger of doing going into this fight. Tavares secured a not-at-all-impressive victory, likely getting him one more fight in the UFC, but likely not another PPV.
For Marquardt, I’m not sure he survives. He is a veteran of the UFC, he fought Anderson Silva for the belt and knocked out Demian Maia in one of the nastiest ways possible. But his issues with the UFC and Dana White have not been forgotten, so I think he will be handed his walking papers yet again.
Donald Cerrone def. Myles Jury by unanimous decision (Lightweight - 155 lbs.)
“Cowboy” dominated Jury for all three rounds but was not able to put the young upstart away, a fact that grated on Cerrone. He unleashed a series of frustration-fueled and very hard kicks to Jury’s prone body as Jury laid on the mat to finish the fight. Cerrone took Jury to the ground in the first round and nearly secured a rear-naked choke victory.
Cerrone is in the running for a lightweight title shot, but the inability to put Jury away means he will likely have to wait for Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight the winner of Anthony Pettis vs. Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 185. In the meantime, I’d like to see Cerrone square off with Benson Henderson, assuming Henderson emerges victorious from his bout with Eddie Alvarez on Jan. 18.
The future still looks bright for Jury, but he’s not quite ready for prime time. A bout with Jim Miller or Michael Johnson would make sense for him.
Jon Jones def. Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision (Light Heavyweight Title - 205 lbs.)
Although he humbly declined to agree during FOX Sports 1’s postfight coverage, I firmly believe Jon Jones is the greatest fighter of all time. Many will still say Anderson Silva, and I don’t necessarily disagree. But I think Jones has faced a tougher slate of fighters as champion than Silva did as champion, and Jones has made it look easy in all but one fight – his bout against Alexander Gustafsson.
Jones knocked Mauricio “Shogun” Rua silly to win the light heavyweight title. He submitted Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. He choked Lyoto Machida unconscious. He outclassed Rashad Evans. He submitted Vitor Belfort. He ran through Chael Sonnen. He had to dig deep to defeat Gustafsson. He soundly beat Glover Teixeira and he clearly outperformed Daniel Cormier. Jones' resume is impeccable and is more than worthy of greatest of all time (GOAT) status.
As far as what’s next for him, he seems to acknowledge that the winner of the Gustafsson/Anthony “Rumble” Johnson fight in Sweden later this month will be next in line for his title. However, he also expressed openness to fight Cormier’s training partner, close friend and UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez “for the right purse.” Such a fight would break box office records, but it remains to be seen if it will happen. Velasquez has to prove he can stay healthy first.
For Cormier, he can rebound from this loss but will have to build himself back up in a deep division. A fight with the loser of the Phil Davis/Ryan Bader or Evans/Teixeira bouts, or upstart Ovince St. Preux, might make sense.
The buzz surrounding UFC 182 was akin to fight cards that were held during the organization’s high points just a few years ago. While the fights on this card may not have totally delivered the action fans were expecting, the UFC has plenty of opportunities to rebound in the new year.
Chris Huntemann writes about mixed martial arts in the state of Maryland. He also contributes his thoughts to our site on the UFC, Bellator, and World Series of Fighting. Check out his blog, or follow him on Twitter: @mmamaryland.
